Why You Should Rinse Bottles And Cans Before Drinking Out Of Them

Most of us rinse our produce before chopping it up for our salads, smoothies, or side dishes. At least, we say we do. While this may seem like a bothersome step ingrained in us by our parents or friends, we assure you that you don't want to start skipping the rinse portion of your preparation process.

According to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, which cites the Center for Disease Control, washing your produce not only cleanses the product of any leftover dirt and pesky bugs but also does an excellent job of removing germs. Most produce is handled by many workers before it gets to your local grocery store shelves, so make sure to give all those leafy greens and shiny fruits a good wash before consuming. Even more importantly, rinsing your fruits and veggies can prevent foodborne illnesses, as it's not uncommon for disease outbreaks to stem from contaminated food.

While this information may not be too new for you, it is recommended that other grocery store items get a good wash before meeting your lips, including cans and bottles. So whether it's your go-to six-pack of soda, a few seltzer water bottles, or even mini wine bottles, there are quite a few reasons you may want to start sticking these unopened products under a kitchen sink tap before they reach your mouth. 

No matter what bottled or canned beverage you bring home; if you drink from it, you should always rinse it off first. Here's why.

These prepared products are shipped and handled by many facilities before reaching your store shelf, just like all those fruits and veggies we discussed earlier. Thus, products run through quite a few sets of hands before getting safely home to you. As Reader's Digest points out, your drinks can arrive pretty germy as a result. Unfortunately, even if you aren't drinking directly from the container, pouring it out can still bring unwanted germs into your drinking glass.

The outlet cites Caitlin Hoff, a health and safety investigator, who notes, "It's important to wash the grime and bacteria that cans can collect before you drink out of a soda or open a canned good and expose the food to the bacteria on the outside of the can."

To drive the point home, CBS 11 News tested how bad unwashed soda containers really are. Scarily, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, pseudomonas luteola, and enterobacter cloacae were some of the possible infection-causing bacteria that were present on beverage containers across the city. Our suggestion? Avoid the yuck altogether, and give your beverage bottles and cans a good rinse next time you grab one from a vending machine, grocery store, or friend's refrigerator.